Matthews Asia: Q&A With Robert Horrocks, PhD

Q&A With Robert Horrocks, PhD by Matthews Asia

Chief Investment Officer and Lead Manager, Matthews Asia Dividend Fund

Matthews Asia: How do you view the market environment for Asian economies?

Robert Horrocks: The biggest negative in the short term is the U.S. Federal Reserve raising interest rates,meaning potential currency weakness and capital outflows for Asian markets. The main question is whether growth will pick up in an environment where markets are weak. In the short term, we are also seeing aggressive monetary stimulus across Asia: in China, India, Taiwan and Korea.

The long-term outlook is, however, more upbeat. First, current accounts in Asia are generally positive: Asian countries are saving more domestically than they invest and are relatively less reliant on...